Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 23,885 Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 23,885 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.50. 7,837,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,897,403. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRO. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.76.

Marathon Oil Profile

Marathon Oil Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in the United States and internationally. The company also produces and markets products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol.